


Day 1: Waking Up Restrained

by Catheeso



Category: CJMind, 僕のヒーローアカデミア | Boku no Hero Academia | My Hero Academia
Genre: Day 1, Gen, Non-Consensual Drug Use, Whumptober, Whumptober 2020, they’re drugged, warning: spoilers!
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-01
Updated: 2020-10-01
Packaged: 2021-03-07 17:55:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,460
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26811745
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Catheeso/pseuds/Catheeso
Summary: Whumptober!Carter wakes up chained to the floor. How’d he get there?





	Day 1: Waking Up Restrained

The first thing Carter noticed was the fact that his head hurt a lot. It pounded with a rhythm that made him feel dizzy. He’s had concussions before, he knows what one feels like. He only hoped Aizawa wasn’t too mad at him this time.

The second thing he noticed was the cuffs on his hands and the fact that he was propped up against a dirty cement wall. 

He groaned and tried to shift, but found his body not complying. Well, that was a problem.

The cuffs around his wrists were tight and had obviously been worn before, but his mind felt foggy. Too foggy to try and piece together information like it was a puzzle. Kali was always the best at that. They were connected to each other with a chain that extended forwards to a metal loop on the floor, in the center of the room. 

Great. So, he was restrained and had a concussion. He tried to twitch his fingers but nothing happened. Maybe under the influence of a drug or a quirk as well. 

_They’re never gonna find you_ , a cold, icy voice whispered in his head. 

And oh- yep, that was definitely a quirk. A persuasion quirk maybe? The voice sounded so different, so sharp, but oh so trustworthy, that Carter took to ignoring it. So he was either drugged or there’s more than one person.

He’d like to think that there’s more than one person. It would be quite embarrassing for him to get kidnapped by one guy. Maybe? He isn’t quite sure what happened.

All he can feel is a heavy weight pressing against his chest as he tried to breathe and the ache in his head. No, he can also feel dried blood on the side of his head, covering his temple. 

But that’s it. There are no stinging cuts or prickling glitches that might indicate that he put up a fight. In fact, it’s quite surprising that he _doesn’t_ feel the numbing sensation of his fingers trying to become unstable. It’s like his quirk isn’t there.

He tries not to shiver as terror fills him. Not that he could shiver. He felt himself reach out, clawing at the place in his chest where the warmth of his quirk would be. This is all too familiar for his liking. This is all too familiar to Overhaul and those stupid quirk-erasing bullets that Carter can’t stop from panicking. 

His breaths wheeze as his breathing picks up, his chest held still by some invisible force. C’mon, he needs to try and remember what happened. How did he get here?

He closed his eyes and went through the last thing he remembered. 

It was Saturday. It’s been two months since he’s gotten his quirk back. Aizawa had been privately training him so he can catch up with the rest of the class after so long absent. Mirio was there at some point? 

That’s right! Mirio had invited him for coffee. He still felt guilty for what happened to Carter. He had been trying to make it up to him, even though Carter had told him that it was fine. 

Then, they were walking back to the dorms. What happened next? Carter can’t quite remember. All he does know is that there was a sound. There was an object. A crowbar? Mirio had shouted his name. There was a syringe. Something was wrong with his quirk after the syringe. 

Trying to remember anything after that was like trying to grab water. There were snippets - flashes, really - but nothing concrete. Nothing _solid_.

He opened his eyes when he heard something. Footsteps? No, tapping. Something was tapping. _Someone_ was tapping. Carter’s eyes darted around the tiny room, but there was no other person. There wasn’t even a window. It was just dark and empty. 

“Carter? Carter, can you hear me?” A voice asked, strangely muffled. They must be on the other side of a wall. Which wall? The voice also sounded familiar.

God, why can’t he think? 

“Mirio?” He croaked, licking his dry lips. His voice was rough and his throat was dry. Had he been screaming? When was the last time he had water? Everything was muddled. 

There was a sigh of relief from the mystery man - Mirio? - and the rattle of chains, just like his own. Well, it wasn’t fair that he got to move around.

“Mirio, where are we?” He whispered, his voice breaking. “I-I’m scared.”

He was trying very hard to control his breathing, especially since his body didn’t seem to be letting him breathe deeply anyways, but it was hard. He was honestly scared and he was chained up like some kind of animal. 

“You’re going to be fine,” Mirio said soothingly, his chains rattling once more. He must be moving closer to the wall. Through the haze, Carter could figure out that Mirio was on his right. Which, would be his left if he was Mirio. Right? “-ter, focus on my voice. I know you’re scared, but you need to stay calm, okay? Can you tell me what you remember?”

“There was a crowbar,” Carter replied, trying to shift his body so he was closer to their shared wall. With a good amount of effort, it worked. Just barely. “And- and I think that there was a syringe? My body’s, um, it’s hard to move? Something’s wrong with my quirk.”

“Don’t worry, it’ll wear off,” Mirio reassured him. “I’ve been awake for a while, just give it time. As for your quirk, I think it’s the cuffs. Do you see anything in your room that could help you get out of the cuffs?” 

Carter’s eyes slowly tore away from the wall and looked around his room. It was barely a room, it was as big as a storage closest and he’s sure if he laid down straight, his feet would touch the other wall. But Mirio asked him to find something.

“There’s a rock,” he said, his gaze landing on the weird-looking rock on the other end of the cement closet. “It’s sharp.”

“Can you reach it?” Mirio asked hopefully.

Carter frowned. “It’s on the other side of the room.”

 _Useless, you can’t even move!_ The voice hissed again, much louder. The voice was right, he was useless. He can’t move his hands, much less reach over and break himself out of these cuffs. A sob tore through his chest. He’s let Mirio down again.

“Carter, listen to me,” Mirio said, his voice loud. “Listen to me, ignore him. I know that he’s telling you bad things about yourself, but you need to remember that I’m right here. How’s Eri?”

“She’s- she’s safe,” Carter sniffled.

“And why is that?”

“Because...I saved her?”

“Exactly!” Mirio (probably) smiled. “She’s safe because of you! You’re not useless or whatever he’s telling you, you’re a U.A. student who helped take down the yakuza. Who else gets to say that?”

“You?” Carter snarked tiredly.

Mirio laughed through the wall that separated them. Carter’s fingers twitched and he gritted his teeth. This was probably gonna hurt. 

He grabbed the chain that was keeping him chained to the floor and used it to drag himself over to the sharp rock. As predicted, his arms screamed in protest and he felt incredibly dizzy, but he was rewarded by the rough feeling of stone in his hands.

“I- I have the r-rock,” he gasped out, attempting to regain his breath. “What- what now?”

“How big is it?”

Cater turned it over in his hands, “um, small? It’s not big.”

“Can you try to unlock your cuffs? It’s okay if you can’t,” Mirio pressed.

He blinked and fumbled the rock to his chains. It was harder than he thought it would be. The rock slid into the keyhole. He twisted it around for a good while, trying to ignore the harsh pounding in his head. Eventually, there was a sharp _click_ , and his cuffs fell open. Warmth filled his chest as his quirk came back.

“It’s off!” Carter cheered quietly. 

“Carter, can you teleport us out of here?” Mirio asked gently. Carter slumped against the nearby wall. Could he? He’s pretty tired. He’d like to go back to sleep. Maybe they could escape later. Sleep sounds really nice right now. 

“Carter!” Mirio snapped. His voice sounded desperate. There was some other noise. Footsteps? Carter forced his eyes open until he was staring at the wall. Just two teleports, right? Two doesn’t sound so bad.

He didn’t even get the chance to try before his door was slammed open and a tall figure loomed over him. Were they holding a gun?

“Virus,” the man said coldly. Carter closed his eyes in defeat. He was too slow.

_Better luck next time._


End file.
